


The Time Baby

by TheDoctorAndRiversArmyOfPeppers



Category: Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-10-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 16:24:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4883695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorAndRiversArmyOfPeppers/pseuds/TheDoctorAndRiversArmyOfPeppers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>River is pregnant. The Doctor is over the moon. But not all goes well. And one of the Doctor's friends does something so terrible that he may never be forgiven.</p>
<p>It is time for the Doctor to retire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Conception

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fiction. :) I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter One: Conception

 

The Doctor and River sped into the TARDIS on the Doctor's anti-gravity motorbike and skidded to a halt just before the steps that led to the glass control platform.

"Show off," River slapped the Doctor's shoulder with a gloved hand.

The Doctor just smiled at her over his batted shoulder while she dismounted. She dropped her helmet and gloves on the floor and he did the same before following her to the control console. River turned the large circular scanner screen on to see what was going on outside.

On the screen they saw French police motorbikes littering the small alley the TARDIS was standing in. There were policemen scouting around the ship with confused expressions on their faces.

The Doctor and River found this very amusing and they laughed as the Doctor pulled the dematerialization lever.

"And what sort of time do you call this?" Came a Scottish accent from the balcony.

"Bedtime. Go to sleep, Amelia," the Doctor replied.

"And don't steal my lines, mother," River added.

"Sorry, River. Doctor, did you mean my bedtime or your's and River's?" Amy asked.

"Both. Off to bed, Pond," he took River's hand and started to lead her to their room.

"Wait!" Amy called. "Where did you go on your date?"

"It wasn't a date."

"It was a date." River corrected. "We went to Paris, 1946. We ate in a lovely restaurant that you could see the Eiffel Tower from and then the Doctor gave me a guided tour of Paris on the back of the motorbike he rode in the 2074 anti-gravity Olympics. He came last."

"Well, I was the only one who had someone on the back."

"Oh, so it's my fault now?"

"No no no! That's not what I meant!"

"It's what you said."

"So, what happened next?" Amy asked, trying to change the subject before war broke out.

"Then we were being chased by police because of his reckless driving so the Doctor drove up one of the legs of the Eiffel Tower and then onto one of its roofs. The police weren't to happy about that, were they, sweetie?"

"No, they weren't. They started climbing up after us..." The Doctor said but was interrupted by a hyper River.

"... So the Doctor drove us back down the tower and left tyre tracks on the police car's roof and then they were chasing us again so we came back here."

"Ooookaaaay," Amy didn't quite know how to react to that so settled on 'mother mode'. "Just don't bring her back this late again. She has to sleep to, you know."

"Only as much as him," River pointed at her husband.

"More or less," the Doctor agreed. "Come along, Song."

Amy watched them disappear up the other staircase before returning to her own bed.

 

The Doctor and River reached their room. It looked much like the control room. It was the same size and shape. The only differences were where the control console would be there was a four poster bed and under the glass platform there was a large swimming pool.

The Doctor reached for the White Point Star diamond jewellery River was wearing and took it all off carefully and put it on the curved sideboard by the door. It used to belong to his mother so he didn't want it to get damaged. While he was doing this, River took off her long, black dress and folded it over one of the railings.

The Doctor moved over to her again, staring at her almost naked form. Before he knew it, his black suit tails were on the floor and River's hands were moving along his shoulders to his white bowtie. When she had it, she tied it to her wrist with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"Nothing, sweetie," she replied innocently.

The Doctor's white waistcoat and shirt soon followed his tails, forming a pile on the floor. He sat on the steps that led to the glass platform to remove his spats and socks while River kicked off her high heels. All she was wearing was her knickers.

Then he was right in front of her, kissing her deeply. They were a mess of tongues for a few moments before she pulled away.

River grabbed hold of the Doctor's belt loops and tugged his trousers down to his ankles.

She helped him get them over his feet as he stepped out of them.

He was surprised when she expertly backed him up against the wall. She kissed him this time as his hands flew over her hips and shoulders. The Doctor's hands finally stopped moving as one pressed itself into her back and the other nestled in her hair. River pulled back and smiled breathlessly up at him.

Panting, the Doctor moved his hands to her knickers and clung to them tightly, about to pull them down. But River's own hands reached for his TARDIS blue y-fronts and slipped inside, grabbing at his erection. The Doctor made the most beautiful moan as his grip tightened on her knickers.

She massaged his erection until he couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled her out of his underwear, dragged her knickers down and knelt before her. He looked up at River, eyes dark with arousal and grabbed her knees. He tugged at them which River took as a hint that he wanted her to move them apart. So she did. The Doctor moved into the space this created and looked up at her boiling cunt.

"So wet already, my dear," he said sexily. "I shall have to do something about that."

He stuck out his tongue and licked up from the bottom of her thigh to her clit slowly, making her muscles quiver.

Once his tongue had reached her cunt, he started devouring her wetness, causing her to groan. She fisted his hair and pushed his head up into her.

Then his tongue entered her. It darted in and out of her and was met by whimpers and sharp intakes of breath. She pushed his head up harder.

One of the Doctor's thumbs pressed against her clit and his other hand's fingernails dug into River's hip leaving marks. He could feel her getting closer and closer as she tightened around his tongue. He withdrew quickly.

The Doctor kissed River's 'what did you do that for' expression off her face then carried her up the steps and placed her on his side of the bed.

"There's one problem," he flirted.

River raised an eyebrow in query.

"I'm still wearing my y-fronts."

River smirked and pulled him down on top of her. She turned them over so she was sat astride his stomach. River united the Doctor's bowtie from her wrist and used it to tie his wrists to the headboard.

"River?" he asked worriedly.

"Ssshhh," River placed a finger on his lips so he licked it.

She laughed and took her finger away from him. He pouted. She bent down and kissed him again. He matched her tireless energy as she deepened the kiss.

They pulled back for air and the Doctor struggled at his bonds.

River moved down his body painfully slowly, pulling his underwear down and off then nipped at his hip bone. She glided her tongue from his hip, along his stomach and up to his jaw.

"River," the Doctor moaned as parts of River brushed against him in ways that made him forget all other words.

"Ssshhh," River bent over him so her chest was brushing against the Doctor's face.

His teeth found themselves attached to her breast, earning him one of her glorious moans.

The Doctor's tongue traced over the marks he'd made, kissing her breast in places.

River hovered over the Doctor then sunk down around him, taking him in fully. She bounced violently above him. He watched her mane of curls and her breasts move up and down and wondered which he found more enchanting.

River pulled him from his miss-timed ponderings by slapping him on the arm. He took that as a hint so started to thrust up into her in time to her own movements.

River bent down until she was parallel with him and kissed him hard. The Doctor pressed one leg into her lower back and the other against her arse, pushing her down onto him.

She pulled back and bit into his shoulder when he hit the right spot inside her.

The Doctor groaned when he felt River tighten around him, sensing his own release not far away.

River increased their speed then tipped her head back with a loud cry of pleasure.

The Doctor and River came simultaneously. They both screamed through the sensations as the Doctor's sperm swam into River's womb.

The Doctor - recovering from his powerful orgasm - recommenced struggling at his bonds.

River slid off her husband and collapsed onto her side of the bed.

"Can you let me go now?" the Doctor asked her.

So she did, then she felt a wait against her, pushing her back onto the bed and realized the Doctor was now on top of her. He nipped at her neck and ran his freed hands over her body as though they were lungs starved of air and she were a spare tank of oxygen.

"Again?" asked an amused River.

"If you like," he beamed.

"Oh, sweetie. I do."

 

Nearly half an hour later, the Doctor and River were lying calmly in the bed, still naked. River shuffled closer to the Doctor sleepily and rested her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and could feel her smiling.

 

The next morning wasn't much different from the night before.

Afterwards, they were lying together until the Doctor saw the time.

"River?" he kissed the top of her head.

"Hmmm?" she replied.

"Amy and Rory would've gotten up about an hour ago."

They stumbled out of bed as fast as their aching limbs allowed them to, then hastily got washed and dressed.

 

"And where the hell have you two been?" Amy asked as the Doctor and River sat on chairs in the kitchen. "It's really late."

"Don't ask, mother," River replied so the blushing Time Lord didn't have to. "Anyway, she's a time machine, what does lateness matter?"

"Oh, I think it matters!" said Rory.

"Rory, we've been over this," the Doctor told the Roman centurion.

"Just don't forget - I have a sword."

"How could I? When River's here, you polish it and look at me scarily."

"Sweetie, could you make me breakfast, please?" River asked, trying to change the subject.

"Jammie Dodgers?"

She rolled her eyes.

 

The Doctor opened the cell door for his wife and followed her in.

"Goodbye, sweetie," River hugged him.

"Goodbye, honey," he kissed her then walked back to the TARDIS.

A few moments later and the TARDIS was gone, and the Doctor was gone with her.

 

Three days later, River decided to find out why she was feeling odd. She thought she'd use the TARDIS scanner and do a full body scan to prove to herself it was all just a figment of her imagination. But she didn't want him to know. He'd only worry.

She used her vortex manipulator to materialize inside the control room. It was empty.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped up to the console and operated the controls for the scanner.

What she found made her hearts skip a beat.


	2. The Baby

Chapter Two: The Baby

 

River was so absorbed in the information she didn't notice the Doctor come up behind her. She gasped out of surprise as she felt his arms around her waist and flinched when he pulled her to him. She was worried about whether or not he was happy about this. She hoped he was.

"Hello, sweetie," she greeted nervously.

"Hello, honey," he replied, an unreadable emotion in his voice.

River extracted herself from his arms and turned around, huge, exaggerated smile on her face.

"I'm pregnant!" she exclaimed.

"I know," he lifted her up and spun her around. "I'm getting a daughter!"

Once he put her down, he kissed her deeply. The Doctor's hands were sliding around her body, unable to touch enough of her. She hummed contently.

"You're happy then?" River asked once he'd pulled back.

"I'm over the moon! Are you happy, dear?"

"I'm starving."

 

 

A few minutes later they were in the kitchen. The Doctor was cooking fish fingers and custard in deep thought. River sat on her usual chair and rested an elbow on the dining table. He looked as if he'd just come to a marvellous conclusion.

"A penny for them?" she asked him.

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor said once he'd noticed River had spoken to him.

"What were you thinking about?"

"You and the baby."

"And?"

"I'm going to retire."

"What!?!"

"So I can stay and help you and the baby."

"... Don't think I'm not grateful, sweetie, but what about our timelines? And you'd go insane."

"I wouldn't go insane, River! Not with you and the baby there with me. And it won't be permanent. Just as long as you need me. And I could buy her a tiny fez..."

"No you couldn't," River interrupted.

"Alright, I'm flexible. You buy her the fez."

River just rolled her eyes and the Doctor brought her her dinner.

 

 

A few hours later, they were completely exhausted and lying in bed. The Doctor was finding it difficult to drop off no matter how tired he was. He was worried about River, who's tossing and turning was doing nothing to help his sleeplessness. She was unable to get into a comfortable position. In the end she settled on lying on her back.

"What's wrong, honey?" he asked.

"I'm going to have a baby in prison," she replied.

"No your not. I'll get you out."

"Yeah, for the day. Then what?"

"When are you? When did this happen?"

"After Paris, 1946."

He smiled at the memory.

"What makes you think you'd have to go back?" he asked.

"Are you telling me I'm about to get a parole? Because if that's spoilers..."

"It's not spoilers. When I saw you in Paris, you said you'd been asked by the clerics to go on the Byzantium. That's the latest point in your timeline that I've seen you while you were in prison. I can get you out, dear."

"How?"

 

 

When River awoke the Doctor was still asleep, so she played with the curl of hair behind his ear for a few moments. He stirred.

"Morning, sweetie," she smiled.

"Morning, honey," the Doctor replied, pulling her to him for a hug and kissing her forehead.

"So, which of your companions are we naming her after? And if you say Elizabeth or Perpugilliam I'll brake your nose."

"Could be any of them. Barbara, Vicki, Katrina, Sara, Dorothea, Polly, Victoria, Zoe, Eliza... Josephine, Sarah Jane, Leela..."

"Knowing you, I'm assuming we're naming her after Sarah Jane."

"Yes! Oooh, how about Sarah-Josephine?!"

"I bet that doesn't sound half as clever now you've said it out loud."

"No. You're right, it doesn't," the Doctor agreed.

"Middle name?" River wondered.

"You choose. You could have anything you like. Or if we're still naming her after companions you could have Romanadvoratrelundar, Nyssa, Tegan, Meloney, Dorothy, Bernice, Charlotte, Lucie, Molly, Liv, Rose, Martha, Donna or Amelia."

"I think you missed a few."

"Quite a few probably. Any of those, too. Well?" he looked at her expectantly.

"Can't use Amelia, that has to be a first name," she paused for moments thought before the Doctor interrupted her.

"We could call her Amelia if you wanted. I've always liked Amelia."

"No. That would get confusing and I want an excuse for you to make me another one."

"You don't need an excuse."

"Why? I like excuses."

The Doctor smiled fondly at her and buried his head in her curls. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"I'm still waiting to hear that name," he told her.

"Zoe Victoria?"

"Sarah-Josephine Zoe Victoria Song it is then. I like it. Would you like breakfast yet?"

"As long as it's not Jammie Dodgers, sweetie."

The Doctor pouted.

 

 

River stood in the doorway of the cell. The Doctor was a short distance in front of her, smiling sadly. He hated leaving her like this.

"You're going to see me again quite soon, honey. Near the Byzantium," he informed her.

"Spoilers," River teased.

"Only a little one."

"I'll look forward to it."

"I remember it well."

"Goodbye, sweetie."

"Goodbye, dear," the Doctor chuckled.

River kissed him then he entered the TARDIS. She held her tummy as she watched the blue box disappear then sat on her bunk and wrote in her diary for a while.


	3. Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotes belong to the BBC.

Chapter Three: Freedom

 

"Can I trust you, Doctor Song?" the young Doctor asked.

"If you like," River replied. "But where's the fun in that?"

The Doctor watched River disappear then walked to the water's edge.

"What are you thinking?" Amy inquired.

"Time can be rewritten."

 

 

River appeared on the prison ship in orbit around Alfava Matraxis. She sighed. A prison officer came up behind her and escorted her to her cell.

 

 

The journey was a long one. She spent part of the time updating her TARDIS blue diary. When she'd finished, she stowed it away and looked out of the small, barred window.

She saw something outside that made her smile.

The Doctor was showing off flying the TARDIS in silly, entertaining ways. The TARDIS span lamp over base and in swirly patterns. She laughed.

Then River heard a metallic voice over the communications channel.

"This is Prison Space Vessel 23111963/Theta. Will unknown spacecraft please identify or vacate the aria," it ordered.

"Oops," smiled River.

"Hello, Prison Space Vessel 23111963/Theta!" the Doctor replied cheerfully. "Sorry, can't identify. Request permission to stay."

"Request denied," said the voice.

"It's a free cosmos!"

"Under article one hundred and seventy three of the Shadow Proclamation, no craft may come within three hundred meters of any prisoner space transporter of any civilization that is a member of the Galactic Federation. The Vessel you have illegally approached is such a craft and belongs to such a civilization. Please vacate the aria. If you do not, we have the authority to atomize you. This is your final warning. You have twenty Earth minutes in which to withdraw."

During this message, River sent the Doctor a text saying: 'I think you should do as they say, sweetie'.

"Okay," came his voice over the speakers, sounding put out.

River saw her husband's timeship dematirialize.

 

 

Prison Space Vessel 23111963/Theta docked in the spaceport at Stormcage three hours after River teleported abroad.

She looked up from the remains of the half descent meal they had provided her with to see four guards with bulging muscles enter her cell.

"Come to take me home, boys?" River asked.

No answer.

"No?" River continued. "Pity."

 

 

River was marched off the ship and down the corridors of Stormcage's main block. There were no cells in this part of the prison. Instead it housed all the essential amenities, storage and offices among other things.

She was shoved unceremoniously into a large, dark room. It was almost completely empty apart from a table in the middle that was lit by a soft, white glow that was coming from the high ceiling. Now River knew why some of the other inmates who'd been in there had called it 'the void'.

Three people sat on the other side of the table. The young woman who was sitting in the middle gestured for River to sit in the uncomfortable looking chair opposite her. River did as she was instructed.

"Hello. For security reasons you are not allowed to know our names," the woman stated. "We shall begin. You are Doctor River Song of Luna University?"

"Yes," River replied confidently.

"And you are here for the murder of the last of the Time Lords, known as the Doctor?"

"Yes."

"What is your case for parole?" asked the man on River's left.

River listed all the things she'd done to earn her parole and told them that she was pregnant. They looked shocked for a few moments before sending her off to get a pregnancy test done to confirm it.

 

 

River returned to the void half an hour later with the medic who'd supervised the test.

River passed the results to the woman sitting in the middle, who repeated the gesture for River to sit down. The woman on River's right thanked the medic and told him that he could now leave.

"Positive," the woman in the middle read aloud.

As the medic was leaving, another man ran through the doorway, nearly knocking the medic over in the process. The man was wearing an upmarket suit which implied to River that he worked in the Governor's own office.

"This report just came in from MI5 on Earth. It concerns the prisoner," he said, handing the file he was carrying to the woman on the right before speeding out again.

All three assessors read the report, giving the occasional intimidating glance in River's direction. Twenty minutes had passed before they finally put the report down.

The young woman in the middle peered over her round glasses at River.

"It appears, according to this report, that the Doctor never existed. We can't find any mention of him on our records apart from the ones we have on you. And in light of other recent... developments, we have no choice but to reluctantly grant you a free pardon," she glared. "You are free to go. Please make your way to your cell to pack your belongings. A spaceship will be arranged to take you home unless you can be collected by a friend or relative. You may leave."

River beamed at the three assessors then left the room.

 

 

It was only when she got out of the Void that those words properly sunk in. She pressed her head against the wall until the dizziness she felt lessened and her eyes began to well up with tears.

Warden Price, whom she'd teased the whole time he'd worked there, was walking towards her with one of the portable phones. He tapped her on the shoulder and she span around to see what he wanted.

"I hear you're leaving us, Doctor Song," he said with his usual hate-filled voice." Good riddance."

"Thank you," she replied, still smiling brightly.

"Phone?" he offered her the one he was carrying.

"No, ta. I've got one."

"That's not allowed!"

"Tough," she took her PDA from her pocket and called the Doctor.

 

 

The Doctor was repairing the TARDIS control console when the phone rang. He slid out from underneath one of the panels and answered it.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello, sweetie. When are you?" River asked.

"I've just dropped you off after our ninety ninth anniversary."

"Finally! One that's old enough! I've seen the parole board."

"How did you get on?"

"When are you coming to collect me?"

"It worked!?!"

"You thought it wouldn't? Again, when are you coming to collect me?"

"As soon as I can. When are they letting you go?"

"Well, they've sent me to pack, so I suppose I can go as soon as I'm ready."

"I'll be there in a couple of hours, then."

"Okay, sweetie. Bye."

"Bye."

Then he put the phone down and continued fiddling with a smile on his face.

 

 

The surroundings of River's cell were instantly replaced by that of her parents' back garden. It was a warm night despite the slight breeze, so she undid her camouflage jacket.

"I heard there was a freak meteor shower two miles away, so I got us a bottle," Amy said.

 

 

Later, after she told her mother and father that her husband wasn't really dead, River was sitting in her parents' living room. Amy and Rory were in the kitchen making tea and fetching a chocolate cake from one of the cupboards. While she waited, River took her ponytail down and allowed her lovely curls to cascade around her neck.

Amy and Rory came in with the cake and teas and put them on the coffee table then sat down.

"Never found out why you popped by," Amy pointed out.

"Can't I visit my parents without eight alien armies trying to assassinate me?" River smiled.

"Of course you can! But I still have to ask, just in case. You're as bad as the Doctor, and I always have to ask him."

"I can understand that."

"You do have a reason, though?"

"Yes, I do."

Both Ponds simultaneously lent forwards.

"I've got my pardon!" River exclaimed.

Amy and Rory beamed at her with happy and proud expressions on their faces and got up to hug her. River fought for breath while she was crushed like the fillings of a sandwich between her parents.

"Well done, Mels," Rory was saying.

"That's the best news I've heard since we were in the garden!" Amy said happily.

"You can stay with us for a while if you don't have anywhere else to go," Rory offered once they had freed River.

"I'm going travelling with the Doctor for a bit, but we'll see," River told him.

"You will to bring him home every now and then, won't you? We want to see him as well as you," Amy said while she was cutting the cake, putting the slices on plates and passing one to River.

"Of course I will," River took the plate her mother had offered her. "And if I do stay for a bit, could the Doctor stay as well?"

"Definitely," Amy beamed. "He can cook."

"But would he want to stay?" Rory asked.

"If I told him that he did," River grinned evilly.

"That's my girl," Amy smiled.


	4. A Dangerous Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry.

Chapter Four: A Dangerous Encounter

 

River appeared in her cell for the last time. She sighed as she looked at the dank, grey cage that had been her home for centuries. She never thought she'd miss it.

River walked past the bed where she pretended to sleep so the wardens didn't get suspicious. The bed where she and the Doctor had made love numerous times. They were only caught twice.

River ran her hand over the door of her bigger-on-the-inside wardrobe that she and the Doctor had built all those centuries ago. The wardrobe he used to hide in when they were almost caught in bed.

River examined the scratches and scuffs on the bars around which she used to handcuff her husband. The bars she lent against when he materialised his TARDIS in the corridor.

River rested her head against the wall that she'd backed the Doctor into, the wall against which he'd backed her.

All those memories of all those years. She had them safe in her diary, of course. But they were also metaphorically written across the bed, in the wardrobe, on the bars and against the walls. And this was the last time she would read them.

She packed her suitcase then dismantled her bigger-on-the-inside wardrobe. It took longer than she'd expected. She kept picking things up and looking at them for far too long as she smiled fondly at the memories they brought back.

When she'd finished, River sat on her bunk. She was exhausted. Her husband would be there soon. Another smile pulled at the corners of her mouth at just the thought of him.

Then there was a noise from the corridor, a bit like a shuffle.

"Did you kill the Doctor?" came an American accent from the shadows.

"Who's there?" asked a curious River. "No, wait. Captain Jack Harkness, is that you?"

"How do you know me?" Jack wondered, stepping into the light.

His expression was that of a man with all hope robbed from him, all ghost-like from lack of sleep and streaked with tears. His eyes looked at her with angry desperation.

"Through a mutual friend."

"Who? All my friends keep dying."

River remained silent at that question.

"Did you kill the Doctor?" he repeated.

"Well, I'm not here for helping little old ladies to cross the road," River told him after a brief moments thought.

"Then you're not going to get out of this prison alive," he shot the lock on River's door and entered her cell.

"Now, why did I never think of that?" River asked. "You could at least knock. I didn't even invite you in."

Jack levelled his revolver at her head.

"Put that gun down," River ordered.

"No! You killed my Doctor!" he shouted.

"Yes, but there's more to it than that."

"I don't think there is."

River kicked the gun out of his hand and he tensed as he heard it clatter to the floor.

"You'll regret that," Jack said as he lunged for her.

River sidestepped just in time, causing him to almost smack his head on the wall. Jack tried again and she did her best to avoid him but he caught her.

"Let me go, Captain. I don't want to hurt you," River said calmly.

"No! You killed the Doctor! I can't let you leave prison!" he shouted as he punched her.

His fist landed at the side of her face so she kicked him in the groin. Captain Jack let go of her with a small cry of pain. Then he tried again. River caught him and managed to push him away. Just.

She punched his head on his next attempt, but not hard enough to knock him out. She still didn't want to hurt him, even though the baby was protesting painfully.

River blocked Jack's next punch by catching his wrist as he then did with her own. This annoyed her greatly.

Jack twisted her wrist and she did the same with his. They were left trying to push each other over. River wrapped her right leg around his left and pulled it out from under him. Jack fell to the floor and released her out of surprise.

River tried to get into the corridor to call the guards but Jack had gotten back on his feet and grabbed her from behind. He pushed her against the bed and tried to suffocate her, knocking the suitcase off in the struggle. She managed to kick him away from her, thoughts of not hurting him were now long forgotten.

Soon, Jack was on to River again. She grabbed his arm and used it to twist him around, restraining him in a half-Nelson. But he suddenly forced himself backwards, toppling them both over.

River grunted as she hit the floor, then forced herself from under him.

She got up but he caught her ankle and tried to pull her back down. She fought him for a few seconds then allowed him to win. He didn't expect this, so her foot was pulled back fast and clocked him on the chin.

With her ankle released, River ran into the corridor to call the guards so they could take Jack away.

While she was talking to them, Jack re-holstered his revolver. He was going. He knew when he was beaten.

After putting the phone down, River went back into the cell to stop Jack leaving.

He levelled his revolver at her again and she repeated her earlier actions with the same affect.

Jack punched her in the stomach and she cried out, experiencing an unexpected surge of pain.

River countered this with a punch of her own which left Jack finally unconscious on the floor.

She let out a sigh of relief, then looked down.

Panic washed over her as she saw a patch of blood growing on her camouflage trousers. She grabbed her PDA and scanned herself with it. It confirmed what she already suspected to be true.

She had had a miscarriage.


	5. Daughter, Heal Thyself

Chapter Five: Daughter, Heal Thyself

 

The Doctor and some prison wardens came running down the corridor in answer to River's call. When they reached her cell the Doctor noticed Jack on the floor and that River was turned away from him. She was crying.

"Honey?" he asked nervously, he'd never seen her like this before. "Are you alright?"

River waited until the wardens had taken Jack away, leaving her and her husband alone.

River turned to face the Doctor and he saw the patch of blood that stained her trousers. The Doctor's face went white. Tears formed at the edges of his eyes then started falling down his face.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," River said as the Doctor moved over to her.

His arms enveloped her into a big, loving hug. She was thankful for that.

River was covered in bruises from the attack, and the more he found, the angrier the Doctor became. He thought it would be better, in a way, if it had been the Daleks or the Master or the Cybermen. But no, it had to be one of his old friends. It had to be Jack who hurt his wife. It had to be Jack who murdered his daughter. And it made him very angry indeed.

But they both knew there was a slim chance that Sarah-Jo could come back. A small, tiny, slim chance.

The Doctor held River a little bit tighter, not caring that blood was staining the trousers of his white suit. She kissed him and his mouth opened to allow her tongue entry.

When he pulled back, River noticed her hands were glowing with energy. She smiled brightly at the Doctor, who was also incredibly happy and suddenly much his old self again.

"It will be alright," he told her.

River nodded as the regeneration energy reached her head. She walked backwards until she was as far away from the Doctor as possible then spread her arms out.

The Doctor winked reassuringly at River who winked back. He crossed his fingers.

River's body erupted with golden energy as her cuts and bruises healed. The regeneration didn't last long and the Doctor caught her as she fell forwards. River hadn't changed, she wasn't supposed to.

The Doctor placed the unconscious River on her bed and checked her heartbeats. She was okay. The blood had gone from her trousers.

He kissed her quickly on the forehead then grabbed her PDA and re-scanned her with it. A smile tugged at his lips.

The baby had come back to life.

 

 

Jack woke up in the sick bay at the Stormcage Containment Facility with a pounding headache. He rubbed his head as he came 'round.

"Where is she," he asked.

"She's gone," the medic replied.

 

 

The Doctor and River sat in River's cell by her table. He was about to pour her a glass of wine.

"I shouldn't, sweetie," she told him. "I had a few at mum and dad's."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but you've been through a lot today. And it's your last few minutes at Stormcage, dear. We have to do things properly," he poured River's white wine.

It was the same Gallifreyan wine they'd had at their wedding reception and one of the very few the Doctor would drink.

"Well, I suppose it's the safest opportunity I'll have for a while," River picked up her glass with a smirk on her face. "Oh, go on then. Just the one. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" he clinked his glass to hers.

 

 

They walked arm in arm down the corridors to the main entrance. The Doctor - in a spare pair of his trousers that River had always kept in her wardrobe in case of emergencies - was dragging her suitcase as she took one last look around the prison that had been her 'home' for many centuries.

Eventually they reached the large entrance foyer and the waiting blue box.

River took her last nostalgic look around the room then walked into the TARDIS.

River pulled the dematerialization lever and sent them into time and space.

 

 

"What do you mean 'she's gone'?" Jack asked.

"Her husband took her home. He wasn't very happy with you. But he said he didn't mind us letting you go and the Governor thinks that your reaction could be construed as understandable. She's given us the run around, I can tell you. Oh, the amount of work she's given me. Never in here herself, mind. Apart from that test... strange, very strange. Anyway, you are also to be released, but after a bit of questioning," the medic made a gesture for Jack to follow him.

Jack did as he was told. Well, until he hit the medic unconscious and used his vortex manipulator to escape, that is.

 

 

The Doctor and River arrived back in Paris 1946, only one month before they were last there. They went to the same restaurant they went to before, but sat outside this time.

"What happened exactly?" the Doctor asked, looking seriously at her.

"Jack decided to kill me because he thinks I killed you but he killed the baby instead," River summarised for him.

The Doctor looked down at his drink. Both he and River were still saddened by Sarah-Jo's death despite the child's half regeneration. It still hurt.

"I can't forgive him. I don't know what I'll do if I ever see him again," the Doctor sighed.

"If we do see him again, promise me you won't shout at him until after you've saved the Earth or whatever it is your saving. You make mistakes when your emotional. Just ignore him. He's immortal, you can always shout at him afterwards."

"I promise."

"Good boy," River straightened his bowtie.

The waiter arrived with their food and they started eating.

 

 

They spent the next week together on the TARDIS. The first week of the Doctor's retirement went rather well, then Churchill phoned and asked them to go to his war rooms.

They managed to stop the Sontaran invasion of Earth in 1941 and were running back to the TARDIS before they could be ripped to shreds by the explosion when the phone rang again.

"Hello? Who's there?" the Doctor asked once he'd answered it. "Vastra? ...Of course it's me! What's wrong?"

 

 

The Doctor, River, Vastra and Jenny clambered into the cab while Strax climbed on top and got the horse galloping fast.

They had just saved the Earth again and there was about to be another huge explosion. This time they were preventing the release of a space virus from space, but now they were off home.

"You can stay with us for the night if you would like?" Vastra suggested when they were discussing what they were going to do next.

The Doctor looked at River for confirmation before he spoke. She nodded, understanding why Vastra and Jenny wanted to spend a little more time with this Doctor.

"Thank you, Vastra," he said. "We'll take you up on that."

 

 

The meal was a tad over cooked but nice all the same and the tea tasted like Strax had washed in it. Strax said it was his milk, so that probably explained it.

When the Doctor and River got to their room, River sat on the bed and took her shoes off.

"Why is the room covered in sciencey-wiencey, chalky scribblings?" the Doctor wondered aloud.

"Spoilers," River winked.

They got changed into the night clothes that were laid out for them on the bed, then climbed under the covers.

 

 

River was half awake by five o'clock the next morning. She moved her hand over to the Doctor's side of the bed, fully expecting to find him there. What she found was thin air.

She woke up properly.

River noticed a TARDIS blue note on his pillow. She smiled and opened it. It read:

 

My dearest River

At nearly two o'clock this morning, the cloister bell went off in the TARDIS. The sonic detected it. So I got up and went to her.

I shouldn't be too long fixing it, but I thought I'd better leave you a note in case you woke up first and got decidedly un-worried about me.

If I'm not back yet, call me.

All my love, the Doctor xxx

 

River sat up properly and reached for her PDA and called him.

"Hello, honey!" the Doctor answered. "I didn't get back, then."

"No, unfortunately not. Hello, sweetie," she replied. "What happened?"

"The Shansheeth lured me to the Wasteland of the Crimson Heart then stole our TARDIS. I dropped the sonic and they nicked that, too."

"Sometimes, my love, you are an absolute idiot."

"Sorry."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Well..."


	6. Infiltration of UNIT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. This it the first chapter of my little 'the Death of the Doctor' (SJA) fix-it. If you haven't seen the episodes and don't want spoilers or just don't like that sort of thing, then skipping the next three chapters won't take away from the ending. There are hardly any spoilers as this is very different from the televised eps and the Shansheeth are defeated differently.
> 
> The fix-it runs for the next three chapters and includes a continuation of my Captain Jack Harkness arc.
> 
> All quotes belong to the BBC.
> 
> Thank you for reading. :)

Chapter Six: Infiltration of UNIT

 

It was relatively easy to track the Shansheeths' spaceship to Earth in 2010 AD. And from there River discovered the Shansheeth were making themselves at home in UNIT Base Five.

The Doctor had phoned the Brigadier in Peru, who phoned Geneva, who finally gave in and 'transferred' River - or Brigadier Melody Pond - to the UNIT base beneath Mont Snowdon - UNIT Base Five.

All the soldiers saluted Brigadier Pond as she left the car and entered the base. Colonel Karim was waiting for her.

That night, River unpacked her suitcase in the Brigadiers' suite that was situated in the funeral wing.

Before coming to the base, she'd located the TARDISes position within the base. She had used her vortex manipulator to teleport inside so she could pack clothes and things for the Doctor and herself. The TARDIS was still in the funeral chamber. It wasn't part of the Doctor's plan to move her.

"I'm coming to get you," River told the Doctor over the two-way communicators they each had in their ears.

It was quite cold and windy on the Wasteland of the Crimson Heart at night so she didn't want him staying up there too late. He wasn't too keen on the idea either.

A few seconds after she disappeared, River materialised in her room at UNIT with the Doctor on her arm.

"Thanks for the lift, honey," he winked, then went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"You're very welcome, sweetie," she flirted to his retreating back.

 

 

The Doctor was impressed by River Song. Over the course of the next week, River had managed to learn the Shansheeths' plan to fake the Doctor's death and get them to believe she was helping them. Which she was, of course - she was helping them to lose. She'd sabotaged the memory weave controls and ruined all the technical gubbins the Groskes had put inside the rocket that would've taken the Doctor's remains into space. She couldn't let Human technology advance ahead of its time. And, in the middle of all that, she was pregnant and had to organize his funeral. Yes, the Doctor was very impressed by River Song.

It was the night before his funeral and River was late collecting him. He could hear what was going on through their ear pieces. It seemed like River would never get away.

"Come on, River. Get rid of him," he said mostly to himself.

 

 

'I'm trying', River thought as she smiled at her captor in nearly all but name.

"And where should we put the chairs for the wake after the rocket's launched?" her captor asked.

"Oh, I don't know. How about around the tables?" she replied, nearly too distracted by the Doctor's giggling in her ear.

"Could do."

"Well, do it then! I'm very busy and I'm late for a thing. Goodnight, Corporal Wooly," she left the room.

 

 

River was already in bed when the Doctor walked into the bedroom after a quick shower. It was sandy in the Wasteland and it got everywhere. River didn't want any of it in her bed, so the Doctor had to shower every night.

The Doctor climbed into bed with River.

Suddenly she was straddling and kissing him. He pushed her over, pinning her to the mattress.

"Oooh, sweetie!" River exclaimed out of surprise.

His fingers were the first thing to enter her. He was quick because in her condition she wouldn't last long. She moaned as he nibbled at her neck.

Soon his hard length was replacing his fingers as he thrust in and out of her. It wasn't long before she was coming, screaming. His own release took a little longer but neither of them were in any hurry.

After his only orgasm and her third, he slid out of her and his sweaty body fell onto hers and she held him in her arms.

They were both too exhausted to talk, so they just fell asleep there.

 

 

River was dressed. She had the rim of her Brigadiers' uniform hat pulled down sexily over her eyes and the Doctor's big, green coat slung over one shoulder.

The Doctor wandered out of the shower (again) and she helped to dry him off then dress him.

With a flash, they appeared on the Wasteland of the Crimson Heart. The Doctor let go of River's vortex manipulator and wrapped his arms around her.

They said their goodbyes and then she was gone.

 

 

A few hours later, River sneaked back to her room. Her suitcase was packed and she was ready to go when the time came.

Along the corridor, last minute funeral preparations were well underway and everyone was busy. Nobody would miss her. She hoped.

She operated the controls of her vortex manipulator.

 

 

Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was stuck in Peru. He was well and truly stranded and now there was no way he could get to his dear friends funeral. It upset him greatly. He knew it wasn't real but he also knew this was probably his only chance to say goodbye. He'd be dead before the Doctor, he had always known that. So any funeral for him was important. And the Brigadier was going to miss it.

Then River appeared.

 

 

Sarah Jane Smith walked out of her front door and saw a massive black car pull up outside her house. They'd come.

"Right on time," Sarah Jane remarked.

She, Luke Smith, Clyde Langer, Rani Chandra, and K9 got into the car and were driven away.

 

 

"Doctor River Song," the Brigadier smiled as he spoke.

"Hello, Alistair," River smiled back. "Would you like a lift?"

 

 

Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani and K9 arrived at UNIT Base Five. The two boys were in awe of this amazing base with metal towers, satellite dishes and similar structures springing from it.

"Now that is what I call a base!" Clyde exclaimed when he poked his head out of the car window.

The car pulled into the car park and the five visitors were met by Colonel Karim, the same person who'd informed them of the Doctor's death.

She was an Indian looking lady wearing a black uniform.

Karim promptly showed them around the funeral wing, including the rocket.

Once the tour was over, they dumped their things in their room then attended the Doctor's memorial service.


	7. The Fictional Funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long.
> 
> All quotes belong to the BBC.

Chapter Seven: The Fictional Funeral

 

The Colonel followed them down the passage between the benches and up to the coffin.

"Can I see him?" Sarah Jane asked.

"I don't think you'd want to," Karim answered.

"That sounds to me like you're hiding something."

"Sarah Jane... He was hurt."

Sarah Jane's face fell. She slowly went to sit down on a front bench.

"I don't even know what he looks like."

"I'm sorry?"

"I think he regenerated 'cause the last time I saw him, he didn't say a word. He just looked at me as though... That body could have a different face and I wouldn't know if it was him or not."

Karim left the room and Luke, Clyde and Rani sat on the bench across the room from Sarah Jane. K9 stayed by his Mistresses feet.

Something smashed behind them. There was a woman standing in the doorway with her grandson. She had dropped a vase of white lilies. Sarah Jane recognized the woman. It was Jo Jones.

Jo spotted Sarah Jane and went over to talk to her while her grandson, Santiago, went to sit behind Luke.

Sarah Jane and Jo introduced themselves and talked for a bit about their families.

"What's that?" Jo asked, pointing at the robot dog.

"K9, my computer," Sarah Jane answered proudly. "K9, this is Josephine Jones, former companion of the Doctor Master."

"The Doctor 'Master'?"

"That's what K9 calls him."

"Greetings, Mistress Josephine," K9's tail sagged and his ears twitched as Jo patted him on the head.

"Greetings, K9," Jo smiled.

 

 

Jack appeared outside UNIT Base Five using his vortex manipulator. He had just been in the cell of the Doctor's murderer and tried to kill her.

His skin was bruised and he was still bleeding in places. He didn't think it was anything fatal...

His failure to kill River played heavily on his mind. It felt like he was letting his old friend down, even though he knew the Doctor wouldn't have approved.

He was cross with himself for letting her get away. If he ever saw her again he wouldn't repeat that same failure. Next time he would kill River Song.

 

 

Madam Vastra was in her living room having Jenny pour her a cup of tea when Strax came bursting in.

"The boy with the gigantic head is back and wishes to speak with you," he informed them.

River swayed into the room after the lumbering Sontaran.

"Why, Doctor Song, do sit down and explain to us what has been happening," Vastra indicated the chair opposite her.

River sat down and put on her most apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry we weren't here this morning. Something came up," River then told them the whole story.

"Can we go to the funeral?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, but it may be difficult with Strax."

"We can't let 'im miss it."

"No, we can't," Vastra agreed.

"I could blend into the background! Not one single puny Human would notice me!" Strax exclaimed excitedly.

"We'll see, Strax. Jenny, would you be kind enough to pack our things?"

"Certainly, Madam," Jenny left for upstairs.

 

 

Sarah Jane and Jo were still chatting when Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart entered the memorial chamber followed by John Benton and Mike Yates.

"Sarah Jane Smith and Josephine Jones!" the Brig smiled as the two women got up to hug him and his two companions.

"Oh, Alistair, Mike and my lovely John Benton!" Jo exclaimed as she hugged each of them in turn.

"I was told you were stuck in Peru," Sarah Jane said when she released the Brig.

"An old friend gave me a lift," he answered.

"With respect, the Cradle will continue," Shansheeth Blue told them.

They all went to sit down.

 

 

Captain Jack Harkness arrived in the memorial chamber a few minutes later, lead by Colonel Karim. He walked up to the coffin and placed his hand on the lid.

"I know who murdered him," Jack's eyes welled up with tears.

Sarah Jane felt all the new hope within her begin to fade.

"Who?" Luke wondered.

"Doctor River Song," Jack spat the name out as if it were poison.

"How do you know?" asked the Brig, not believing a word of it.

"I was in the future so decided to look him up. She confirmed it. I tried to kill her earlier but failed."

"But the Doctor would never have wanted that. He'd want her safe in prison," Benton voiced everyones' thoughts.

"She was in prison!" Jack countered. "She got a pardon because she somehow managed to convince them that the Doctor never existed! She's wandering around out there, free as a bird without a murder on her criminal record. Not anymore. I couldn't let her go free!"

"After the funeral we'll ask you for a description so we can find her and punish her," Karim told him before leaving the room.

She couldn't believe her luck.

 

 

"Emergency! Emergency! We have a Sontaran in the base! Code red Sontaran!" a young soldier shouted down his radio.

"We have been seen," Vastra informed the others.

"I fought you said they wouldn' notice ya!" Jenny nudged Strax as they ran.

"Stupid, Human scrum! Can't they see when I'm trying to be inconspicuous!" Strax complained.

Vastra and Jenny rolled their eyes.

Before they knew it, there were soldiers coming at them from both directions. They were trapped. Vastra and Jenny stopped running and put their hands up but Strax remained defiant to the last.

"You will lay down your arms and take us to the Doctor!" he ordered.

"No chance, sonny. You're coming with us," the young soldier told them, taking the luggage off the Sontaran.

All three were taken to the cells.

 

 

The Brigadier, Benton and Yates all left for their rooms after the memorial service and Jack decided to take a closer look at the rocket. K9 was charging. Sarah Jane and Jo stayed in their room to think while Luke, Clyde, Rani and Santiago went to make tea.

On the way they saw a little, blue Groske disappear into the ventilation shaft. The children followed but soon lost the alien in the maze of shafts.

The route they'd taken lead them to the memorial chamber. Clyde watched the Shansheeth through the grill of the ventilation shaft and heard them talk about draining Sarah Jane and Jo's minds.

The artron energy in Clyde's hand flared up causing the Shansheeth to see them.

The kids had to shuffle backwards to escape as the Shansheeth tore off the grill.

 

 

Sarah Jane and Jo noticed that the children had disappeared and went to look for them.

They'd only been searching for them for a few seconds when all four burst out of the ventilation shaft backwards.

Clyde told Sarah Jane and Jo that the Shansheeth were lying through their beaks and Jo realized that meant that the Doctor could still be alive.

The Doctor's voice suddenly came through Clyde using the artron energy, to tell them that he was indeed alright. Then Clyde's body twisted in pain as artron energy zapped all over him and he was replaced by the Doctor.

"Good. So, gosh, that was different. Hello, everyone!" the Doctor said, beaming.

Rani didn't trust the Doctor until Sarah Jane told her who he was.

The Doctor hugged the surprised Sarah Jane and Jo. Both former companions were so pleased to see him again.

Then the Doctor noticed Jack run towards him so he shut his eyes. This was going to be difficult.

"Jack!" Santiago exclaimed when the Captain reached them. "You were wrong! The Doctor's not dead! He's right here!"

"He's not dead now. Doesn't mean he won't be in the future. An it certainly doesn't mean River Song didn't kill him. Hello, Doctor! I like the new body," Jack extended his hand to the Doctor and seemed quite confused when the Time Lord didn't shake it.

"Shansheeth!" Luke warned.

The Doctor walked up to the vulture-like creatures but before he could do anything useful, Shansheeth Blue shot him with a red laser beam from his claw.

The Doctor fell to the floor in agony then escaped by swapping places with Clyde. And then they switched back again when the others ran through a doorway that lead to the next corridor.

They all ran into one of the bedrooms and shut the door as Colonel Karim was walking towards them from the other direction to the Shansheeth.

The Doctor told Sarah Jane to lock the door with her sonic lipstick. That was when she noticed the ring on his finger.

"Doctor, are you married?" she asked him.

"Pardon?" the Doctor hid his left hand behind his back.

Sarah Jane pulled it into view again and looked up at him.

"Doctor? He or She? What's their name? Why didn't you tell us? Why weren't we there?" Jack's questions were ignored by the Doctor.

The Doctor noticed K9 plugged into a socket in the far corner. The tin dog seemed to be inactive so the Doctor just patted him on the head before turning back to the others.

"We're running out of time. I need you, Sarah, and you Jo," the Doctor said, grabbing the women's hands.

"Need us for what?" Jo asked.

"Remember the good old days when we go off to far away worlds?"

Then all three swapped with Clyde.

Colonel Karim was knocking and calling through the door.

The kids worked out that Karim was working with the Shansheeth. Karim heard this so ordered that the children were to be trapped.

A Groske poked his head out of the ventilation shaft and told the kids and Jack to follow him.

 

 

"There and there," the Doctor instructed Sarah Jane while they finished the Doctor's teleport on the Wasteland of the Crimson Heart.

"Why didn't you answer Jack when he asked you about your partner?" Sarah Jane wondered.

"I promised my wife that I wouldn't talk to him."

"So she's a she?"

"Yes."

"What's her name?" Jo asked from where she was sitting.

"Oh, you'll find out very soon. She's in the UNIT base right now, actually," the Doctor smiled fondly.

"What's she like?"

"Brilliant and clever and beautiful."

"Why doesn't your wife want you to talk to Jack?" Sarah Jane inquired.

The Doctor looked down silently, face a picture of sadness, and continued to fix his teleport.

Sarah Jane didn't know what she'd said wrong.

 

 

The Groske, the children and Jack were all sitting in the Groske's little den in the ventilation shaft when the shutters fell down and the heating turned up.

"We can't get out!" Luke noticed.

"They're gonna boil us!" Rani exclaimed.

"Luke, are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Clyde asked.

"No," Luke informed them. "The manual controls are on the other side of the shutters."

"If only I had my squareness gun," Jack muttered under his breath.

 

 

The Doctor had fixed the teleport with the help of Sarah Jane and her sonic and Jo and her oil. They used the teleport to get back to Earth without having to swap with Clyde.

The Doctor heard the children calling for them and realized that they must be trapped. He went to help them but Sarah Jane and Jo were kidnapped before they could follow him into the vent.

 

 

The Doctor was halfway down the shaft when he heard Sarah Jane and Jo being taken. Now he was faced with a terrible choice. Would he go after his former companions or the kids.

After a bit of dithering, he chose to go after the children. But that meant saving Jack too.

He reached the Groske's den and fiddled with the wiring of the locking mechanism. The door opened.

"Blimey! You really have changed faces, haven't you?" Clyde noticed. "I couldn't see you before, I was too busy swapping."

"Oi! We're still cooking back here!" Rani exclaimed.

They shuffled down the shaft to rescue Sarah Jane and Jo.

 

 

Sarah Jane and Jo were shoved unceremoniously into the memorial chamber. Waiting for them in the room were Shansheeth Blue, Colonel Karim and Brigadier Melody Pond.

The other two Shansheeth pushed their prisoners over to two chairs - one on either side of the room. The Colonel strapped Sarah Jane into her chair and Brigadier Pond strapped Jo into hers, her struggling no match for Melody's superior strength.

Once the prisoners were secure, Melody gave the order for the memory weave to be started. Karim obeyed silently, operating the controls on the memory weave's console to start the extraction of Sarah Jane and Jo's memories.

The straps holding Sarah Jane and Jo released. Surprised, they pelted towards the doors. Melody chased after them, flashing the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to unlock the doors. Sarah Jane and Jo burst through them and the Doctor shut them after his former companions were through but before Melody could get out. Melody locked the doors with the Doctor's sonic.

 

 

The Doctor reached the memorial chamber just in time to shut the doors after Sarah Jane and Jo. Nobody noticed him wander off.

Sarah Jane hugged Luke - as Jo did with Santiago - when they and the others had reached the memorial chamber. The unplugged K9 was trailing behind as ever.

"Where's the Doctor gone?" Rani wondered as a small platoon of UNIT soldiers came running down the corridor towards them.

"I think we may be about to find out," Sarah Jane answered.

"What's going on?" Jo asked the nearest soldier, a Corporal called Wooly.

"The Doctor told us to come and arrest the Shansheeth and Colonel Karim," Wooly replied.

"And Brigadier Pond," Sarah Jane added.

"Nope. The Doctor said not to arrest her, 'no matter what'."

"'No matter what'?"

"His exact words, ma'am," Wooly walked up to the big doors of the memorial chamber and banged loudly.

There was a faint buzz from the inside, then the doors opened.

They all went back into the chamber and Corporal Wooly's men arrested the Shansheeth and Karim then escorted them out of the room.

Jack's jaw dropped.

"Oh, no," Melody deflated.

"It's her!" Jack exclaimed.

"Brigadier Pond?" Jo was confused.

"She's not Brigadier Pond! She's River Song! She's the woman who killed the Doctor!"


	8. The Fury of a Time Lord

Chapter Eight: The Fury of a Time Lord

 

The Doctor was running.

Thankfully, the cells weren't that far from the funeral wing, so he didn't have far to go. Vastra, Jenny and Strax were close behind him as he turned the last corner.

He and River still had their ear pieces in and he heard everything.

What he heard had made him cross. Very, very cross.

 

 

Jack aimed his revolver at River. She didn't run. She didn't look scared. She just slowly walked towards him.

"You want to think very carefully about this," she told him. "The Doctor's cross with you as it is, you don't want my murder to be another thing for him to hate you for."

"She's right, sir," Wooly told him. "The Doctor told us to leave her alone."

"He didn't know she'd killed him. And he doesn't hate me," Jack's finger tightened on the trigger.

"He seems to be doing quite a good impression to me," River was now almost close enough to touch him.

Jack stepped forward and slapped her.

"Don't you dare say that to me!" he shouted angrily.

"I told you, Jack. There's more to my relationship with the Doctor than just his murder," she said after kicking him in the groin for revenge.

"I don't believe you," he spat, wincing.

River sat down calmly as he re-levelled the revolver at her head.

"Leave the gigantic-headed boy alone, Human scrum!" Strax bellowed as he leaped on Jack from the doorway.

Both Jack and Strax fell to the floor.

"Strax, can you get the TARDIS key off him, please?" River asked the Sontaran as he restrained Jack in a half-Nelson.

"Certainly, sir," he pulled on Jack's shirt collar so it was beginning to cut off his air ways. "Where is it?"

"Get him off me! Get him off me!" Jack pleaded.

"That's not an answer, puny girl!"

The Doctor's friends rushed to help Jack, but a young woman and a female Silurian appeared in the doorway, wearing black catsuits and carrying sharp swords.

"Stay away from my butler!" Madam Vastra ordered.

"But he's hurting Jack!" Rani exclaimed.

"Good. Jack hurt the Doctor!" Vastra moved forwards, waving her sword at the small group.

They all decided it might be best if they did as the Silurian said. They backed off and stayed quiet.

"I never hurt the Doctor!" Jack told Vastra.

"So the Doctor is a liar, then? How interesting," Vastra said smugly.

Jenny sped over to Strax and Jack and pressed her sword against the latter's throat so Strax was free to check his pockets.

"Found it!" Strax said excitedly as the TARDIS made the key glow gold to prove it was the right one.

"You can't have that!" Jack complained.

"He can, actually," the Doctor said from the doorway. "I don't want you to have a key to my home after what you did, even though I don't condone how they got it off you. Whatever they've done, Jack, you do not kill people!"

"But she killed you!"

"I know! And I don't want to hear that line one more time today!" the Doctor pulled River into a big loving hug.

"Hello, sweetie," she smiled into his neck.

"Hi, honey. I'm home," the Doctor pulled away.

"You like her!" Jack was surprised and shocked.

"How could you when you know what she did?" Clyde asked.

"And what about the Sontaran?" Sarah Jane inquired. "You know that they're..."

"Never mind that now. Would you put the key in the TARDIS please, Strax?" the Doctor asked.

Strax did as he was told before coming out again to fetch his and his companions luggage. He carried it all into the TARDIS and was followed inside by Vastra and Jenny.

The Doctor could see his companions mouths opening to ask him things again.

"There will be plenty of time for questions later. Go and pack you things and I'll give you a lift home," the Doctor smiled at his friends.

They did as he said, muttering to themselves as they left the room.

Then the Brigadier, Benton and Yates came rushing through the memorial chambers doors, having heard of the Shansheeths' arrest and the Doctor's return.

The Doctor and River went over to say hello.

"We were going to the officer's mess for a drink, would you like one?" Alistair offered the Doctor and River.

"Yes," River replied.

"Come on then. It's the Brigadier's round," Mike smiled.

The Brigadier glared at Yates, who looked at his feet.

"My round, then," Alistair lead the Doctor and River to the officer's mess.

 

 

In the mess, Benton found them some empty seats and they all sat down.

The Brig went around the table asking his friends what they wanted to drink.

"River?" the Brigadier asked her last.

"A cup of tea, please," she answered.

"Just tea?" he looked surprised. "Are you feeling alright?"

River batted Mike's hand away when he tried to take her temperature.

"Oh, I'm fine," she said knowingly.

"For goodness sake, girl, you can't be fine! I've never known you refuse..." Alistair paused mid sentence and looked from River to the Doctor's happy face then back to River again. "You're not, are you?"

"I'm not what?" she asked innocently, although she knew what the answers would be.

"Are you pregnant, missus Doctor?"

"Yes."

 

 

One hour later, the drunk Brigadier, Benton and Yates were being supported back to their rooms by the sober Doctor and River.

Once the old soldiers were out of harms way, the Doctor and River returned to the memorial chamber.

There were lots of bored and cross eyes on the Doctor and River as they entered the room. Most of the cross eyes were focused on River, so they knew Jack had been telling them stories.

It looked like they'd been ready and packed for ages.

"About time!" Clyde complained.

"Shut up, Clyde," Rani slapped him on the arm playfully.

"All aboard, then. Not you, Jack," the Doctor said as he opened the TARDIS doors.

"Why not!?!" Jack retaliated.

"Because if I don't want you to have a TARDIS key, I'm certainly not going to want to let you inside the TARDIS now, am I?" the Doctor replied sourly as he broke Jack's vortex manipulator.

All the others piled into the timeship, leaving Jack on his own.

Depressed, he left the room with his bag slung over his shoulder and went to find a bus stop.

 

 

The Doctor's friends looked around the TARDIS interior, amazed and exploring every nook and cranny they could find in the control room. The Doctor and River watched with smug expressions on their faces. Strax was making tea and Vastra and Jenny were in the library. They thought they might find something useful for a investigation they were about to start.

"Doctor?" Sarah Jane went to stand next to him at the console. "Why did you let River and that Sontaran in but lock Jack out?"

"Because I like River and Strax," the Doctor answered.

"But Jack..."

"Jack tried to kill my wife and ended up killing my unborn daughter instead. I'm not letting him on my TARDIS again. Ever."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Neither does he."

"You said your wife was in the base. Where is she?"

"I'm here," River smiled at Sarah Jane.

"You married her?!" Sarah Jane exclaimed.

"She murdered me because I asked her to..." The Doctor started but was interrupted by his wife.

"You can't tell her that!" River slapped him on the shoulder.

"But that's what happened!"

"Well yes, in a way, but that doesn't mean people want to hear it."

"Why would you ask your own wife to kill you? That's horrible!" Sarah Jane demanded to know.

"Because if I'd saved him, the Universe would've fallen apart. The Doctor's death is a fixed point in time and he was worried I'd change it."

"It's okay," the Doctor comforted his former companion.

"What happened to the memory weave? Why did it let us go?" Sarah Jane asked.

"River sabotaged it."

"And what about the Sontaran?"

The Doctor looked at her with a blank expression.

"You let a Sontaran in the TARDIS. You'll be hugging Daleks next," Sarah Jane clarified.

"Oh, Strax! Strax is nice. He used to be a nurse. He's saved my life a few times. Not by nursing. Makes good tea, too," the Doctor explained just as Strax appeared with a trolley full of cups of tea. "Well, I say good..."

"Thanks Strax," Sarah Jane took the cup offered to her, trying to be pleasant.

Strax continued to hand out the teas to the sceptical bunch of Humans who hadn't heard the Doctor, River, and Sarah Jane's conversation.

Soon, the TARDIS materialised in Sarah Jane's attic.

The Doctor hugged everyone goodbye. The others were still unsure of River, so only Sarah Jane hugged her.

And then the TARDIS was off again.

 

 

The Doctor and River materialised on the event horizon of a black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

Strax stood in the doorway and threw Jack's TARDIS key into the inky blackness beyond.


	9. Grandparents

Chapter Nine: Grandparents

 

"Rory!" Amy shouted. "Roranicus Pond, get your backside down here!"

"What is it?" Rory asked as he stumbled down the stairs.

"Look who's come home!"

 

 

Amy was tired of waiting for her son-in-law to get out of his box. She was about to go in and drag him out by his braces when the doors finally clicked open.

"Hello, Amy," the Doctor greeted nervously as he stepped out of the TARDIS. "Hello, Rory."

"Hello, Doctor. You're acting like you've just eaten the last of my favourite biscuits. What have you done?" Amy asked.

"Something worse than eating biscuits," he pulled her into a big hug.

"Erm, I don't remember giving you permission," Rory frowned.

"Sorry. Permission?" the Doctor apologized.

"Granted."

"Thank you," the Doctor released Amy then hugged Rory.

"So, where are you taking us?" Amy inquired.

"I suppose we could go somewhere, but that's not why we're here."

"We?"

It was then that River stepped out of the TARDIS. The Doctor grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Hello, mum. Hello, dad," she was also nervous.

"Are you alright? What's he done? Should I be looking for my sword?" Rory asked.

"It's alright, I'm fine."

"Then what's going on? What could possibly be worse than eating all my biscuits?" Amy wondered.

"Come on, River, you're worrying us," Rory added.

"You may want to sit down," River started.

Amy and Rory sat next to each other on the sofa and the Doctor and River stood in front of them.

"I'm pregnant!" River said quickly.

Amy and Rory stared at them for a few moments as they digested the information.

"Oh my god!" Amy exclaimed.

"A baby? A real baby?" Rory stood up to hug his daughter.

"What else?" River replied.

"I'm going to be a grandma. I'm too young to be a grandma!" Amy got up and slapped the Doctor lightly on the arm. "You impregnated my daughter!!"

"See! I said they'd be cross! Didn't I say they'd be cross?!" the Doctor said to his wife.

"A few times, yes," River said before turning back to her mother. "Are you cross?"

"No! I just wish you'd come to tell me when I was older," Amy assured the Time Lord.

"Mother, don't you want to have more time with the grandkids?"

"There's more than one?" the ex-Roman inquired.

"Not yet. But if this goes well there could be."

"Well, I'm in the market for a hug, and maybe a 'congratulations'," the Doctor announced.

"Of course," Rory hugged River again. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," she smiled.

Then Amy hugged and congratulated River.

Rory turned to the Doctor (Who had been quietly wondering why everyone was hugging and congratulating River when it was him who'd asked for it) and regarded him the way a father would a wayward lad who'd shagged his precious daughter. This made the Doctor even more nervous so he blushed and stared at his feet.

Rory's stoney expression broke into a delighted smile and he shook his relieved son-in-law's hand. Then Amy hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

They all sat down.

"So have you thought of any names," Amy asked.

"Sarah-Josephine Zoe Victoria Song," River said proudly.

"Wow, that's a mouthful. What if they're a boy?"

"She won't be."

"I'm getting a granddaughter!"

River nodded.

"How far along are you?"

"Six and a half weeks."

"You said you could take us somewhere, raggedy man," Amy stood up to go and get changed. "I think a restaurant. I'm hungry and I want to celebrate. Get your coat, Roranicus."

 

 

The TARDIS went wrong. Twice. The timeship laughed to herself as the Doctor told her off. An amused River took control of the console and navigated the ship to the correct time and place with no further mistakes, much to her husband's irritation. His three companions would tease him rotten about that later.

They entered the restaurant and found a table. The restaurant was quite ordinary except for the amazing view. Through the floor to ceiling windows they could see the beautiful landscape of New Earth and air cars flying through the evening sky.

They sat down and ordered.

 

 

The dinner went surprisingly well. The Doctor only spat out two things on his plate and Amy managed to avoid shouting at the waitresses.

However, they had to leave during desert because the small child from the next table found River's laser gun and fired it, smashing the big window in the process. The Doctor, River, Amy and Rory ran all the way back to the TARDIS out of fear of having to pay for it. They laughed until they were safely in the vortex.

 

 

"You're not running away," Rory told the Doctor once they'd got back to the Pond's kitchen.

"What?" asked the confused Doctor as he started making tea.

"You're not leaving River behind until she's settled with the baby. If you leave in the TARDIS, they go with you."

"I've retired, Rory. I did that so I'd be at home with River and the baby. Did you think I would leave them when they needed me?"

"No, of course not. Just making it clear."

"I never thought you'd make it," Amy hugged the Doctor. "I thought you'd be childless 'til the day you died."

"I know what you mean," the Doctor sighed. "I thought that to."

"You will bring her to see us, won't you? We really would like to see her."

"We weren't going to..." The Doctor started but was interrupted by River coming into the kitchen.

"Have you done my tea yet, sweetie?" she asked.

"Kettle's boiling, love," he told her.

"Oh," River suddenly remembered that she had to ask her parents something. "You know a few years ago when I told you that I'd left prison, you said the Doctor and I could stay with you..."

"And you never did," Amy said.

"Well, that was three weeks ago for me..."

"You mean you sat there filling us with good news and you decided to leave the baby out?" Rory crossed his arms.

"The Doctor wasn't there! Anyway, could we take you up on the offer now?"

"Until River's okay on her own with Sarah-Jo, if that's alright," the Doctor added.

"Of course it is!" the relieved Amy exclaimed. "Stay as long as you need to!"

"I'll get your room ready," Rory smiled as he headed for the airing cupboard.

 

 

Rory made River go to bed early. She wasn't happy about that until she decided to drag the Doctor with her.

River got into bed wearing her black, lace nightie and snuggled close to her shirtless husband.

 

 

Amy and Rory went to bed three hours after the Doctor and River.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Amy asked her husband.

"I think they'll be just fine," he smiled as he joined her in bed.

"But I doubt he's ever had any other kids and River didn't have a proper childhood, so what are they going to do? We don't have experience..." she paused for a few moments. "How will they know what to do?"

"I don't know."

 

 

"What is it, Amelia? What's so urgent?" Tabetha Pond asked as she and her husband followed their daughter into the sitting room. "I was about to go shopping."

"Sorry, mum. This won't take long," Amy replied before looking at the crowd of faces in the room to see if anyone was missing.

"I think that's everybody," Rory said to Amy as he passed his dad a cup of tea.

"Right," Amy bit her lip nervously. "Can you fetch them?"

"Yeah, I think they're in their room."

"Don't forget to knock."

"Amy!"

"Off you go," Amy ordered.

Rory did as he was told. A couple of minutes later, he returned with the Doctor and River.

"Hello, you two! We haven't seen you for ages!" beamed Tabetha.

"We've been busy," River explained as she was hugged a bit too tightly by her grandmother.

After they'd all said hello and sat down again, River told them she had something to say.

"Well, spit it out, girl," Augustus said, not unkindly.

"Let her take her time, she's obviously nervous enough as it is," Brian intervened.

River took a deep breath and the Doctor squeezed her hand.

"I'm pregnant," River told them.

Almost everyone in the room stared at the Doctor and River as the news sank in. Before long, River and the Doctor were being hugged within an inch of their lives by happy family members, between handshakes and the occasional utterance of congratulations.

 

 

Two months later, River was beginning to show.

She kept busy helping the Doctor renovate his house on Baker Street during the day, and was driven back to her parents house in an old, purple Beatle in the evenings. Amy continued to write her articles for magazines and Rory carried on full time nursing. When he wasn't at 107 Baker Street, the Doctor did the Pond's housework and played butler for River and Amy. He also liked baking scones. He did good scones.

But now it was time for her first scan.

She laid down on the hospital bed in the TARDIS sick bay while the Doctor pulled the medical scanner over her and turned it on. River grabbed his hand.

When they saw the child on the screen the Doctor went all Hummany with happy tears trimming his eyes, River stared in wonder and Amy and Rory hugged.

"She's beautiful," the Doctor smiled in awe.

"How can you tell? She's just a blob," River asked, entirely unserious.

"She just is."

"Good enough for me."

"I'm going to be a grandmother," Amy said, delighted.

"You have been for quite a while, mother."

"Yeah, but this makes it seem more real."

"I know what you mean."

"Can you print that off?" Rory asked the Doctor.

"Yes, I can," the Doctor pressed a few buttons and another machine on the other side of the circular room bleeped to life.

A couple of sheets of paper rolled out of a slit in the machines left side and Rory went to fetch them.

The Doctor switched the scanner off then helped River up off the bed.

"Come on, dear," he lead her and the other Ponds down the corridor. "Lets get some frames."


	10. Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> If you were wondering about the reference I made to the Doctor having a house and a purple Beatle in the last chapter, its in the Big Finish Dark Eyes audios.
> 
> Thank you for reading. :)

Chapter Ten: Apologies

 

It was September in 2018, seven years and eleven months since the Doctor's funeral.

Jack trudged through a park in London. It was early evening and cloudy but quite peaceful. Empty.

He sat on a bench to think. He did things like that more frequently as he got older. He was told that most people did. He'd think about the day the Doctor ignored him. It hurt.

Jack now knew that it may have been a bit hasty trying to kill River Song, but he was too caught up in emotion to notice at the time. He had recently lost Ianto, he'd be buggered if he lost the Doctor as well. Not without the responsible bitch suffering the consequences. Prison wasn't enough.

He also now knew that the Doctor had married River. He'd received an invite to the wedding, then a letter telling him not to go. Jack assumed the invitation was sent before the funeral and the letter afterwards, from the Doctor's point of view. And he was right.

So he went to see Sarah Jane Smith, to ask her what he should do. Should he listen to the invite and use the chance to stop the Doctor from making the mistake of marrying that woman? Or should be do as the older Doctor asked and stay away?

Sarah Jane told him to do as the older Doctor said. But Jack didn't like that. So he went anyway.

It seemed that the Doctor from the future had foreseen this. Because when he reached the Doctor and River's wedding, there were four, efficient UNIT soldiers standing there. They had orders to prevent him from getting anywhere near the wedding ceremony. And that hurt more than anything.

Jack was pulled from his reminisces by the sudden, heavy rain that had started to fall. So he stood up, pulled his trench coat tighter around him and walked away to find shelter and a warm cup of coffee.

 

 

The Doctor, River, Amy and Rory were shattered. It had been a very long day.

The Doctor helped River over to the sofa and patted her planet-sized tummy. Rory sat by his daughter while Amy went to have a bath and the Doctor went to the kitchen to make tea.

 

 

It was dark now, and the rain was getting heavier with almost constant gusts of chilling wind.

Jack had returned to the park and sat on the bench again. He had nothing better to do.

He'd come to London to see if he could find the Doctor. One that was old enough to remember the funeral, so Jack could ask him questions. Over the years, he'd found a few younger Doctors with his previous face on and they'd had adventures. But never the Doctor he needed to see.

So he did yet another scan for artron energy and hoped.

That conversation with Sarah Jane was the only one he'd had with anyone who was at the funeral. He kept trying to speak to them but they never picked up the phone. He could only get Sarah Jane to talk to him because he had his foot in her door. He was disheartened and alone. Even his daughter...

The scanner registered something. He dared to hope that this was it.

 

 

It was late and Amy and Rory were suggesting that River should go to bed.

There was a knock at the door. Amy, with loaded water pistol, opened the door to see Jack standing there. She opened fire.

"Oh, grate! As if I wasn't wet enough!" he complained.

"Well, you should've thought of that before you killed my granddaughter!" Amy shouted angrily.

"Hang on. Your granddaughter? You look about twenty-five."

"And you tried to kill my daughter."

"Really? What have I got against your family? Probably haven't done any of that yet. I do travel about a bit. I came to see the Doctor. I picked up traces of the TARDIS at this address, so I know you know him. Is he in?"

"No. Go away."

"Is the Doctor here?" Jack asked more forcefully.

"I've already told you. No he is not! Now bugger off!"

 

 

The Doctor and River could hear Amy and Jack arguing in the hallway.

"Should I get rid of him?" the Doctor asked his wife.

"Yes, dear," River smiled sadly. "He knows where we are now. He'll keep coming back if you don't. And I suppose he deserves to know why you stopped him going to our wedding."

"You're right, honey," he got up off the sofa and turned to look at her. "We'll be in the park."

"Good luck, my love," she kissed him on his forehead then he left the room.

 

 

"I picked up one artron spike here an hour and a half ago, not two. I know he's here. I know you're lying. I need to talk to him. So whatever I may or may not have done in my future, please let me see him," Jack insisted.

Amy slammed the door in his face but Jack managed to get his foot in the way. It was handy, that foot.

"I won't let you in, Captain. You're wasting your time," Amy put more wait against the door.

"Please, missus. Let me talk to him," Jack pleaded through the strain of pushing the door.

"Amy. It's alright," the Doctor told her, walking into the hallway.

"Are you sure about this?" Amy asked him as he took his green coat of its peg and put it on.

"Certain."

"Okay. But I'm not having him in my house."

"I never expected you to."

"So, where are we going?" Jack asked.

"Out," the Doctor squeezed past Amy and led Jack across the road.

 

 

"Oh, I've never been in this park before," Jack muttered as they entered said park that was across the road from the Pond's.

The rain had become a bit lighter but was still coming down harder than either of them were comfortable with at the time.

"Why did you want to see me?" the Doctor asked dryly once they'd sat down on a soaking wet bench.

"You've been acting like you don't want to know me for the past few years," Jack replied.

"And you want to know why."

"Yes."

"You attacked River in her cell. You tried to kill her."

Jack noticed the pain in the Time Lord's voice.

"I know you don't approve of that sort of thing and I know you married her, but that bitch killed you!" Jack saw the Doctor's expression tighten. "That girl is no good for you. You should never have married her. If only I could have gone to the wedding. I might've been able to save you."

"Don't! You! DARE!!!" the Doctor shouted. "My wife is perfect for me! Don't you ever dare say otherwise! I'm glad I married her! Don't call her THAT! And no, you couldn't have 'saved' me! Don't you ever dare say I shouldn't have married River Song!"

"I just wanted to protect you!"

"You weren't protecting me though, were you? How could you have been? She was in prison, Jack! For her I was already dead!"

"They were going to let her go! I couldn't let that happen! Why can't you understand what she did to you! Or how big this is? You're not safe with her!"

"I'm safer with her than I am with you," the Doctor mumbled under his breath before raising his voice again. "She'd been in prison for centuries! How much more punishment do you want!?!"

"A lot!"

"She was kidnapped when she was one month old and tortured for six years! Isn't that enough?!"

"Why was she tortured?" Jack asked, growing quiet again.

"So she'd kill me. Madam Kovarian wanted to turn her into a psychopath. She made my River do all that against her will."

"Why? Why would someone do that?"

"I don't know," the Doctor half lied.

"What are you doing here? In that house, I mean," Jack wondered, wanting to change the subject for a bit.

"I live there."

"You live there?"

"At the moment. It's River's parents house. We're staying there until our house is finished. We're doing it up ourselves. Long nights, lots of shelves to put up. A sonic screwdriver is good for some things."

"You're settling down?!?"

"I've retired."

"You've what!?!"

"I've retired. Hung up my sonic screwdriver. My running days are temporarily over. Something wrong with that?"

"Yes! What the hell have you done that for!"

"River's pregnant."

"You two actually do it! I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"Yes, shut up! You killed her Jack. You killed my baby."

 

 

River looked at her parents clock and worried. The Doctor had been out a long time. She yawned. It was time she and her husband were in bed.

She got up and moved as fast as she could into the hallway, pulled her coat off it's hook and put it on.

Amy and Rory only noticed she'd gone when they heard the front door slam shut.

 

 

"I'm sorry," Jack said, braking the long silence. "But I'm a bit confused. If I killed the baby, how come River's still pregnant?"

"Oh, Sarah-Josephine's alright now. When she's pregnant, the womb of a Time Lady generates a special kind of regeneration energy. It doesn't impact on the mother's or the child's lives and it brought her back. But it might not have worked. River's not a full Time Lady and Sarah-Jo was so young. But it did, thankfully. But if that happens, the Time Lady's body thinks the baby is in danger, so in order to protect the child, the birth is premature. We don't know what damage that will do to her," the Doctor looked at his feet as he tried to keep the tears out of his voice.

"How premature?"

"We don't know. Could be days, weeks or even months."

"I'm sorry."

"River and I are so worried," the Doctor noticed a large shape moving towards them along the path. "River!"

"Hello, sweetie!" she was already soaked through.

"How far along are you?" Jack asked, noticing the sizable bump.

"Seven months," she replied, sitting next to the Doctor so that he was between her and Jack.

"I'm surprised the Roman let you out in this weather, and near him," the Doctor put his arm around her.

"I didn't tell them. I just left."

"I'm sorry, River," Jack tried.

"I told you there was more to it than that, but you wouldn't listen," River rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder.

"So that was your mum who opened the door? That explains what she said. Wait a minute. That makes her the Doctor's mother-in-law!"

"We had noticed."

"She's a bit young."

"I told you. River was kidnapped. Kovarian had time travel," the Doctor explained. "For Amy and Rory, River's only seven."

The Doctor kissed the top of River's head. Her mouth twitched into a quick smile.

Jack noticed both their faces go sad again and felt really bad about himself.

"It's best that I don't come back for a while, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes," the Doctor and River replied simultaneously.

"Okay. I'm sorry. Oh, and congratulations."

"Thanks," River muttered under her breath.

The Doctor just nodded.

"Goodbye, then," Jack stood up and saluted.

"Bye," the Doctor and River chorused again.

Jack walked off, leaving the Doctor to walk River home.

The rain grew heavier again.

 

 

Once they got home, River fell back onto the sofa and the Doctor took her shoes and socks off to give her feet a massage.

"Right, that's it young lady!" Amy shouted when she came into the living room from the kitchen. "You shouldn't have gone out in that weather! You should be in bed! And you're making my sofa wet!"

"Sorry, mother!" River glared.

"Amy, please don't shout at her," the Doctor advised. "She's tired and she's just seen the man who killed her daughter. She's not happy and your not helping."

River smiled down at him lovingly. She really did adore that man. Her feet did, too.

"Oh, just get dried off and go to bed, River," Amy gave in.

"Yes, mother. No, mother. Three bags full, mother. Come on, sweetie," River led the Doctor upstairs by the collar.

 

 

An hour later, the Doctor and River were in bed together. The Doctor had his arm resting on her bump.

"Did he hurt you?" River asked.

"Not physically," he replied. "Did he hurt you?"

"Only because he was there and he put that look on your face, my love."

"I didn't look that bad."

"On the inside."

"Did I really look that bad?"

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. What did he say?"

"He said that by killing you he protecting me and he called you an unattractive swear word that I'd rather not repeat. Him saying that made me lose my temper so I did a bit of shouting."

"Oh, poor sweetie," River snuggled closer to her husband.

"Why don't we go out tomorrow? Just us. To cheer us up. Somewhere really nice," he suggested.

"Calderon Beta?"

"Calderon Beta."


	11. The Birth

Chapter Eleven: The Birth

 

The Doctor, River, Amy and Rory staggered into the house after a days shopping for the baby. River sat on the sofa and Amy and Rory sat down next to her.

"Put the kettle on, love," River straightened her husband's bowtie.

The Doctor did as he was told.

 

 

The next day, the Doctor was in the Pond's third bedroom trying to put furniture together. River watched him from the doorway. She smirked when he realized he had the instructions upside down. He turned them around exasperatedly and took the baby's bookshelf apart again. River went back downstairs giggling.

 

 

"Hasn't he finished those things yet?" Amy asked as River waddled into the kitchen.

River shook her head fondly and Amy sighed dramatically.

"Do you think he needs help?" she wondered.

"He said he could do it himself," River said.

"He says that about fixing the TARDIS."

"Which he can do. Usually."

"Alright. I'll give him three more hours. And if he hasn't finished by then, I'll do it for him."

 

 

"River! Pond!" the Doctor called from the landing. "I've finished!"

"It's about time!" shouted a Scottish accent. "I thought you said your screwdriver was sonic!"

"It is!"

"It's taken you eleven hours!" Amy said as her head popped into view shortly followed by River's.

"Seven hours. Be fair, Pond."

"It does feel like eleven hours," River countered.

"Thank you, missus Doctor! I thought you were supposed to be on my side!"

"Whatever gave you that idea, sweetie?" River kissed the Doctor's cheek before squeezing past him to get into the nursery.

"What do you think?" asked the Time Lord with a proud expression.

River looked around the room, taking all the little details in before turning back to the Doctor.

"It's lovely, dear," River beamed.

Amy nodded in agreement.

"Right, then. I think my husband deserves a cup of tea."

 

 

A few days later, the Doctor and River were in the Pond's kitchen. They'd decided to bake some cakes and the Doctor was getting the mix everywhere. River rolled her eyes.

Rory was at work and Amy had gone shopping, so they had the place to themselves.

The Doctor put a dab of mix on River's nose then kissed it off her.

"Let's not start anything like that now, sweetie," River smiled sinfully.

The Doctor blushed and put the cakes in the oven.

 

 

When Amy got home, there were lots of little cakes on the dining table and the kitchen was still a mess.

"Doctor! River! What have you done to my house?!" she called.

The Doctor sheepishly stepped into the room as if she'd bite his head off if he weren't careful.

"Baked things," he answered.

"I can see that! And it's all over you, too! Why haven't you tidied up after yourselves?"

"I was helping River get into the bath. She was complaining about the flour in her hair. I couldn't help thinking it would look better with petals..."

"Can you clean it up now, please?" Amy asked, growing impatient.

"Immediately, Pond," the Doctor went looking for the mop with a mock salute.

Amy rolled her eyes.

Then Rory came home.

"Blimey!" the Roman exclaimed as he entered the kitchen. "Doctor! What have you done to my house?!"

 

 

The Doctor and River were in bed trying to get to sleep when River felt a severe pain in her lower torso. Her whole body tensed and she bit her lip so hard she could taste blood. The pain passed and she caught her breath.

"Doctor?" she elbowed the lump on the bed behind her.

"Yes, dear?" he answered, rubbing his side where her elbow had struck.

"I think I'm giving birth!"

He sat up and hugged her excitedly before kissing her deeply. She pulled back when her next contraction hit and her fingernails dug into his shoulder blades.

"Don't you think you should be doing something useful like helping, sweetie?" she asked him just before her waters broke.

"Oh... errr... yes, yes. Of course," he got up, ran to her side of the bed then put his fingers to her temples. "I'm going to numb the pain centres of your brain now, dear."

"Thank you."

Once he'd finished, he picked her up to carry her out of the room.

It was two months after they saw Jack in the park. Gallifreyan pregnancies last longer than Human's, but River's had lasted nine months despite. Sarah-Jo was early. Quite a bit early, actually. The Doctor decided to worry about that later.

"Amy! Rory!" the Doctor called as he carried River down the stairs to the TARDIS parked in the living room.

"What's happened!?!" Amy shouted back accusingly.

"The baby's coming!"

Amy and Rory hurriedly got out of bed and bolted down the stairs after them.

 

 

The Doctor and River's bedroom on the TARDIS had been prepared for the birth. Everything they could possibly need was laid out before them on every available surface. The Doctor put River down on the bed and kissed her reassuringly.

Another contraction rolled over River. Amy and Rory grasped her hands.

 

 

"Can push yet, honey?" River asked five hours later.

"Yes," the Doctor confirmed.

River smiled, then the next contraction hit her.

 

 

"I can see her whole head, honey! One more push should do it!" the Doctor encouraged his wife.

River pushed once more before flopping back on the bed, completely exhausted. She felt far too tired to do anything so decided to go to sleep. She only lifted her head up when she heard a baby crying. Her baby crying.

"Hello, Sarah-Jo. I'm your daddy," the Doctor told his new daughter before he cut her umbilical cord with his sonic and tapped her on the nose. "You are beautiful."

With teary eyes, he placed Sarah-Josephine Zoe Victoria Song on her mother's stomach.

Amy and Rory stared at their grandchild from their seats on either side of the bed in awe.

"And I'm your mummy," River said proudly, letting a tear trickle down her cheek as a wave of emotion crashed over her.

She picked up the baby and held her close. The Doctor draped an arm around his wife and pulled her to him. He planted a kiss in her hair.

The baby gurgled.

"Thank you, Sarah-Jo," River kissed her daughter's forehead.

"What did she say?" Amy asked.

"She said she likes my hair."

The baby gurgled again.

"No, Sarah-Jo. It is called hair. Not 'nice twirly stuff'," the Doctor waggled his finger in front of her eyes.

Sarah-Jo gurgled for a third time. She was hungry. River undid the first few buttons of the large shirt she was using as a nightie and held Sarah-Jo's head to her breast so she could feed.

When Sarah-Jo was full, River passed her to the Doctor who bathed her to get rid of the blood, then dried her before passing her to Rory. While Rory weighed the child and did other such things, the Doctor picked River up and carried her to the swimming pool beneath the glass platform and cleaned her up in it. Amy changed the sheets.

When they were done, the Doctor tucked his wife into bed and kissed her forehead.

River watched as the Doctor placed Sarah-Josephine in his old cot for the first time and smiled as her daughter approved of her new accommodation.

Amy and Rory hugged River and the Doctor, then kissed their granddaughter goodnight, before retiring to their own room.

The Doctor climbed into bed with his wife and held her as she fell asleep.

 

 

In the early hours of the morning, the Doctor carried Sarah-Jo to the sick bay, wanting to know the extent of the damage Jack had caused and thinking it best that the others weren't with them.

He placed her in the cot the TARDIS had so kindly provided and pulled the scanner over from the far side of the room. He did a full scan of his daughter and crossed his fingers.

He concluded that her future development, mental and, physical, would be slower than a normal Time Tot's, but otherwise she was fine. The Doctor thought that it must be that little bit of Human DNA and that the pregnancy wouldn't have lasted much longer, anyway.

With a happy smile on his face, the Doctor returned Sarah-Jo to her cot in his room and got back into bed with River.

 

 

They were woken up by Sarah-Jo three times that morning. Not that River minded too much, she enjoyed kicking the Doctor out of bed to look after the child every time. He didn't really mind either. But he still complained in the daft way he did when he didn't mean a word, enjoying River's fond smiles.

 

 

The Doctor woke up before River did. He played with her curls, wrapping them around his fingers and smelling them. He loved her hair. River stirred.

"Morning, honey," he smiled.

"Morning, sweetie," she replied.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nearly horrible. I'm tired and I'm hungry and I'm glad you haven't turned my pain centres back on yet."

"So you feel fine, then?"

"Basically."

"Sarah-Jo's going to be okay. I scanned her."

"That's a relief."

Then the Pond's came in, each carrying a tray of toast, butter, marmalade and a cup of tea.

"River!" Amy exclaimed as she put her tray on her daughter's lap. "We thought you might not want to get up so we brought you breakfast."

"Thank you, dear," River smiled, looking at her food hungrily.

"Well timed, Pond," the Doctor told Amy.

Rory handed the tray he was holding to his son-in-law, who looked equally peckish and relieved that he didn't have to leave his wife and daughter to go and eat elsewhere.

"Thank you, Rory," he said as he reached for the knife.

Both new grandparents went over to the cot to stare at the little, sleeping child inside.

"So," Amy turned to the Doctor and River. "When are we getting another one?"

"Not yet, mother. I've only just woken up," River replied before eating her second slice of toast.

"You're not fair."

"No, she isn't," the Doctor turned from Amy to River and waggled his finger in her face. "That's really not fair, River!"

"Entertaining though it would be, I'm trying very hard to not bite that finger, sweetie," River smiled innocently.

"Do you want another one?" he asked her seriously as he hid his finger before she could damage it.

"What? Another finger?"

"Another child," the Doctor needlessly clarified.

Both Ponds lent forwards, waiting for her to answer.

"Yes. Do you, sweetie?"

"Yes, I do."

 

 

Sarah-Josephine Zoe Victoria Song slept peacefully in her father's cot, undisturbed by the Silence unlike her mother. And had a father who understood her, which her father had never had. For the first few years she even had grandparents who spoilt her like her mother's had never been able to do for her. And she had a tiny, tiny hat which her father always denied was a fez whenever her mother asked...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the end!!!
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. :)


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